Not content with attending 14 concerts during the Ireland, UK and European legs of the 2005 tour, Scopitones forum regular and roving reporter PeterMarkCraig decided that he couldn't resist the trip of a lifetime. So he hopped on a Virgin Atlantic flight to make the three nights that TWP played in Boston, New York City and Hoboken. Something and Nothing brings you an exclusive look at Peter's tour diary.

Boston: 
The plane was delayed by nearly 2 hours due to the bog pipe being blocked (apparently by the cap of a toothpaste tube) and there was a further half-hour delay in Boston before we were let off the plane. As a result I only found the venue with a couple of hours hotel-searching time to spare and ended up paying $189 + tax for a room and that was after I haggled it down by $50. Ouch! It was very close to the venue which was some compensation.

The Middle East Down club was the venue where they sold more than acceptable draught Guinness, which I consumed enthusiastically. When in America, drink what you always do! Although not sold out it was pretty packed. Jessica looked surprised and a little worried when she saw me and David looked positively scared, but I got a peck on the cheek from Terry which made the + tax all worthwhile. Simon didn't know I was there until he came on stage and he looked suitably gobsmacked but highly amused.

By the time gig started I had been on the go for 24 hours and was beginning to feel it but the second I5 began all my physical and emotional fatigue slipped away and I found myself leaping about enthusiastically (alone of course) as ever.
For the first time ever on this tour I had to take a toilet break and ended up singing a duet of I'm From Further North Than You with an American guy at the bar. It was really funny and he seemed impressed with my knowledge of the lyrics.

A fantastic gig as ever with all the usual banter from David, my favourite being:-
'Yes, you're right of course, I am the man" in reply to the rather predictable shout from the crowd.
Disappointingly I didn't meet up with any of the American forumites despite parading around the place with my 4 shirt on like some kind of strutting peacock on heat.
Very very long queue at the merchandise stall after the gig, so after a long day, lots of Guinness and 90 minutes of one man moshing I slipped away quietly to my king-size bed for some well earned kip. Next stop the Big Apple.
 

New York:
Woke up feeling fine and walked/subwayed my way to the central bus station and booked my greyhound ticket to NYC for the 4 and a half hour trip.

Once at Port Authority main transit station I had to find my way to the Bowery Ballroom on Delancey Street. The public information people are so rude and aggressive. The girl I asked for info virtually told me to piss off and made no eye contact whatsoever. She sent me down to the subway where the man there sent me back to her in the same gruff manner. Welcome to New York - Have a Nice Day - but not if I can help it!!!!!

The New York subway system, big, complicated, dirty, noisy and very scary. Thank goodness I never had to use it at night. Once you've experienced it you'll never criticise London Underground again. Having said that, with my A2 sized map-in-hand and several 50/50 choices of trains (and making the wrong choice most times) I am quite chuffed at how I managed to find all my destinations, eventually. I eventually found out that there was an actual station called Delancey Street and surfaced to find out that the station was not actually on Delancey Street!!

My internet research told me the Bowery Ballroom was No 6 so after two 10 minute walks in the wrong direction I eventually found my datum point a scruffy insignificant looking place - all bill posters padlocked doors. During all of my travels the most satisfying moments have been when I have actually tracked down the venue. Next task to find a hotel. Eventually found one five minutes from the venue @ $189 + tax (haggled down from $200).

I had asked Jessica to put me on the guest list for this gig and Hoboken. When I walked past the venue at about 7pm David was stood outside and we had the longest chat of the whole tour. Also there was Steve Stone who is putting to together a DVD of live shows from Boston, New York, New Jersey, Washington, Pittsburgh, Cleveland and Los Angeles. Steve asked me if I would do a video interview for the DVD which I did in Hoboken (story to follow).

When I returned to the venue after something to eat I found David in the middle of the road with his arms outstretched, Gene Kelly style and Jessica videoing him. The venue had a large horseshoe shaped bar as you entered with the merchandise stall at the bottom of the stairs leading to the gig room. The doors were wide open and the merchandise was all laid out but no one was there so I spent 20 minutes guarding it until David and Jessica got back from film location.
 
I watched the Crystal Skulls again and came to the conclusion that I didn't and wasn't going to like them.
 
The gig was set list A again but no less enjoyable for it's predictability. All DLG's banter was a variation on the same theme, and he kept glancing down at me during his patter as if to say "I know you've heard this all before, but this lot haven't."

Met up with Lugepravda who is over in New York for 3 months working (and staying in the Millenium Hilton no less). We had a really good chinwag about all things musical before I left to stake my place at the front. As Luge has already explained on the forum, he got rather pissed. I bumped in to him after the show and offered to buy him a drink. He started following me but when I got to the bar he had gone. Terry was in the bar with her sister and friend and invited me over to their table where I had a jolly nice chat.
After a large screwdriver and countless pints of Guinness it was back to the hotel at about 1:30am.
 
 

Hoboken: 
Today was shopping day. Transformer toys for the wife and make up for the boys, or was it the other way round. Anyway, I subwayed it to Broadway and had lunch at the biggest Macdonalds I have ever seen, 4 floors most of which were full. I then went in to the biggest internet cafe I have ever seen, there must have been 300+ computers to send in a small report for the forum. After trying 299 computers before finding one that worked I browsed the Scopitones site and then went in search of the aforementioned goodies. Bought the make up at Macys and the toys at the Times Square Toys 'r' Us which, surprise surprise is the biggest toystore I have ever seen They even have a large fairground catherine wheel and an animated T-Rex that roars very loudly every 2 minutes.

After shopping it was subway to 34th Street and on to the PATH subway to Hoboken (after going backwards and forwards on the times square-central station subway shuttle four times).
 
On arrival in Hoboken which resembled a hick town after the buzz of New York, it was the usual routine of finding the venue and then accommodation. I hailed a cab for the first time on the trip and he took me to Maxwell's where the reassuring sight of a TWP poster in the window confirmed I was in the right place. I then went in to a little Irish pub called Kellys where the landlady kindly gave me the phone book and her phone to call for motels. I found one at $109 + tax for the night which I was pleased about until the cab driver taking me there told me I could easily have found one for $60!!!Anyway I had already booked. The place was a tip, the room smelled like a dirty ashtray and the internet access had crashed, but apart from that it was luxury.

I had to be at the venue to do the interview with Steve Stone but after lugging my bag and shopping round New York in the pouring rain I was shattered and fell asleep  at the motel. Fortunately I woke up just in time to catch a cab and get there for 7pm. Unfortunately for every one else I did not manage to shower before leaving, and as the photo of me in time square shows, I was definitely in need of one. Apologies to anyone within whiffing distance.

Steve and his friend Matt were at the bar at Maxwell's when I arrived and after a bite to eat and a good old chat they took me downstairs to the errmm "dressing room" to do the interview. Apparently the soundtrack of the interview will be dubbed over footage of me moshing at the gigs on the DVD he is producing. Fame at last. Now this room was no more than 8feet by 4feet with one bench, a coat rack, a curtain for a door (that didn't close properly) and wallpaper made up of stickers and graffiti from previous visiting bands. ROCK'N'ROLL hey. It was no surprise that Terry turned up already changed but a great disappointment that she had left behind her red boots and was wearing a pair of red clogs instead. Still, she got an awesome pair of ankles!

The venue was tiny and access to the stage was only via the dance floor. This may explain why they started with Bewitched rather than I5, as David couldn't do his delayed entrance stage door bit after On Ramp.
Luge turned up hoping to get in on spec and complaining that he had got so drunk the night before that he couldn't remember any of the gig!! Anyway after discussing the best and most plausible sob story he presented his sorry case to the doorman who gave him a stamp on his skin for $20. Then a chap called Steve from Warrington introduced himself and, would you believe it, he was over here coaching soccer with his best mate who is from, you guessed it, CHORLEY. Not only that but he played for Chorley Football Club last season. Small world or what. Then Andrew from Leeds introduced himself. He is a banker working in New York.  To say he introduced himself is not quite accurate as it was I who accosted him to congratulate him om his choice of a Tommy Reception Rose t-shirt which is my own personal favourite.

I also had a good natter with George and Maria Leone from Mt. Vernon who from the card George gave me appear to run the Girls Scouts of Westchester. Special thanks to George and Andrew for keeping me supplied with Guinness without me having to leave my post at the front.

 
As Bewitched remains my all time fave TWP song you can imagine that it went down quite well with me. They played the C set list with 146 degrees in for Careless and Anyone Can Make A Mistake in for Once More although Once More was written on the set list.
When he introduced H & E my facial expression prompted David to ask me if I was going to cry. I replied no that would be at the end of Perfect Blue and I very nearly did cry then. Perfect Blue has been the highlight of every one of the 17 gigs I have been to on this tour. Ringway to Seatac seemed to go down better that on any previous night and Dalliance was greeted with near hysteria, although still no one actually became airborne during any of the numbers, except one that is. The end of WHISN was obviously quite a significant moment for me after my travels and I confess to having to hold my emotions in check, especially when Simon gave me a big bear hug as he left the stage.

So it IS really all over for me now. 17 gigs, 5 countries, 2 continents, over 11,000 miles travelled, in the region of £2,500 spent and I can say with absolute conviction that I have enjoyed every moment and have absolutely no regrets (although the number of Ikea visits is certain to increase dramatically now!!).

I will not be doing the same thing ever again, but I've been there, done that and got the t-shirts.
The best thing of all has been meeting so many wonderful, friendly, interesting and interested people all with the same passion for the finest producer and performer (after Dr Feelgood) of music one could ever wish to hear and see.